HART WILL REPORTEDLY QUIT RACE FOR PRESIDENCY TODAY IN STORM OVER PRIVATE LIFE

By E. J. DIONNE Jr.

Published: May 8, 1987

Gary Hart will announce his withdrawal from the contest for the Democratic Presidential nomination at a news conference in Denver today, his friends and campaign associates said yesterday.

Mr. Hart's campaign began to crumble after The Miami Herald reported that he spent part of last weekend with a 29-year-old model and actress, Donna Rice.

Mr. Hart repeatedly denied that he had had any sexual relationship with Ms. Rice. Friends said he had been worn down by the attacks on his character and feared further articles about his personal life, including reports of romances with other women that would challenge his insistence that he was not a ''womanizer.''

Mr. Hart's friends said his withdrawal was accelerated Wednesday evening when he learned that The Washington Post had obtained what the paper, in an article in its Friday issue, called ''documented evidence'' of a ''liaison'' between Mr. Hart and an unidentified woman last Dec. 20. [ Page B7. ] Race Is Left Wide Open Mr. Hart's withdrawal would leave the Democratic contest with no candidate having support above 10 percent in opinion polls. The latest New York Times/CBS News Poll found that other than Mr. Hart, with 32 percent, the only candidate who registered in double digits, the preference of just 10 percent of Democrats for their party's nomination, was the Rev. Jesse Jackson. With the exception of Mr. Jackson, none of the other contenders is as well known to the general public.

''It would be wide open beyond anyone's wildest imaginings,'' said a Democratic Party consultant who asked not to be named. Cuomo Says He Won't Run

Last night Governor Cuomo of New York, who is favored by many Democrats, repeated in Manhattan that he would not enter the race. [ Page B6. ] Mr. Hart reached his decision at the end of one of the most tumultuous weeks in recent American political history. It began with the article in The Miami Herald, whose reporters staked out Mr. Hart's Washington town house on a tip that he would be entertaining a beautiful young woman.

Mr. Hart and The Herald debated whether the paper's stakeout had been adequate, but Mr. Hart was damaged by an accumulation of details on the history of his relationship with Ms. Rice over the last two months.

Then, in a remarkable moment of political drama, Mr. Hart was asked Wednesday at a news conference in Hanover, N.H., whether he had committed adultery and whether he had had a ''monogamous'' relationship with his wife. He declined to answer either question.

The Hart camp learned of The Washington Post's impending revelations at about 11 P.M. Wednesday, according to the newspaper, when one of its reporters told Kevin Sweeney, Mr. Hart's press secretary, about its information. It was shortly after 1 A.M., Mr. Sweeney said, that Mr. Hart decided to suspend further campaign activity.

A close friend said he made his final decision to withdraw late yesterday afternoon, and two of Mr. Hart's state campaign managers, Rodger McDaniel of Wyoming and Tom Serafin of Illinois, said they had been told he would withdraw today. According to The Associated Press, a Hart spokeswoman, Kathy Bitzer, said Mr. Hart would make a statement at noon today. A Tip to Newspaper

The Post said in its article that Mr. Hart's liaison in December was part of a ''long-term relationship.'' According to the newspaper, the information was received from an anonymous source and confirmed by The Post.

William P. Dixon, who said last night that he gave up his day-to-day authority as the Hart campaign manager two days ago, asserted that fear of further disclosures was not the main reason for Mr. Hart's decision - which he declined to make public - but a factor in the swiftness of the decision.

''What happened last night may well have accelerated Senator Hart's decision to protect his family,'' Mr. Dixon said, speaking of the discussions Mr. Hart's aides had with The Post's reporters about the new information on his personal life, ''but I don't think that was the reason for his making his decision.''

A friend who discussed Mr. Hart's perilous political position with him earlier this week said the former Colorado Senator had said that ''there are things out there'' that might haunt his campaign. Friends of Mr. Hart sought to dissuade The Post from running its article once Mr. Hart had decided to withdraw, arguing that there was no reason to report on the private life of a man who was about to become a non-candidate.

Mr. Hart had also received grim news from his fund-raisers. And Mr. Dixon gave up his position as campaign manager, according to people familiar with the campaign, out of disappointment over Mr. Hart's behavior in the association with Ms. Rice. Asked about that, Mr. Dixon replied, ''No comment.''

But friends of Mr. Hart also said he had been deeply and personally hurt by the publicity given to his personal life over the last five days. ''He's gone through four days of absolute brutalization and hell,'' said a close friend of long standing. ''For a person who has worked that long to get to where he is, can you imagine how demoralizing that would be?''